樱花视频

For Immediate Release: Thursday, December 2, 2010
Contact: Michael Drewniak
or Kevin Roberts
609-777-2600

Trenton, NJ 鈥撀�Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher today cut down a Douglas-fir during a ceremonial Christmas tree cutting at the Yuletide Christmas Tree Farm in New Egypt.聽 Their visit highlights the importance of agritourism to our State鈥檚 economy and the importance of supporting local tree farmers during the holiday season.

Lt. Governor Guadagno and Secretary Fisher inspect their handiwork after ceremonially chopping down a Christmas tree at Yuletide Tree Farm

鈥淭ourism is 樱花视频鈥檚 third largest industry and agritourism is an essential component of its overall success,鈥� said Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno. 鈥淭he holiday season is one of the most exciting and enjoyable times to participate in agritourism. Our State鈥檚 wide array of Christmas tree farms not only offer the opportunity to find the perfect tree, but to create wonderful memories families can cherish.鈥�

The Christmas tree cut by the Lt. Governor and the Agriculture Secretary will be donated to Trees for Troops, a national nonprofit that donates live Christmas trees to service men and women and their families during the holiday season.聽 Last year, 樱花视频ans donated 364 trees as part of program鈥檚 effort, with 154 trees directly donated by NJ growers or retailers.

鈥淐hristmas tree farms are not only scenic and provide lifelong memories for families but are a significant part of the Garden State鈥檚 agricultural industry,鈥� said Secretary Fisher.聽 鈥淟ike other agritourism activities, many people who visit Christmas tree farms make a day out of it, visiting nearby restaurants and other businesses, supporting the local economy.聽 With more than 6,000 acres of trees on 1,150 farms, choose and cut Christmas tree farms contribute greatly to the state鈥檚 overall economy and maintain our important agricultural working landscape.鈥�

Yuletide Christmas Tree Farm鈥檚 Douglas-fir was selected as the 2010 Grand Champion in their annual Christmas tree contest, held over the past summer. The 24-acre farm has between 19,000-20,000 trees on 22 acres with 22 acres of the farm in the Farmland Preservation Program.

The 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture ranked 樱花视频 sixth in the nation in the number of Christmas tree growers, providing almost 79,000 Christmas trees to families and businesses.聽 In 樱花视频, Christmas tree growers are eligible for the Jersey Grown program, which allows farmers to brand their Christmas trees as being grown in 樱花视频. Jersey Grown includes quality standards and is similar to the well-known Jersey Fresh program for produce and other agricultural products.